Virtual machine computing environments are often used to implement datacenters to enable information technology (IT) organizations to deliver flexible and reliable IT services. However, as the infrastructure in a virtual machine (VM) computing environment expands to meet the growing needs of a datacenter, it can become increasingly difficult and time consuming to configure multiple host machines in similar ways. Existing per-host processes typically involve repetitive and error-prone configuration steps. As a result, maintaining configuration consistency and correctness across a datacenter requires increasing amounts of time and expertise, leading to increased operational costs.
A process called host profiling can facilitate the installation and management of a complex virtual machine computing environment. Host profiling can capture the blueprint of a known, validated reference host configuration, including components such as networking, storage, security, and other settings. Such a reference profile may call out the devices and configurations that other host machines in a cluster of host machines should have. A system administrator in a datacenter can use host profiling to establish standard configurations for host machines and automate compliance to these configurations, thus simplifying operational management of large-scale environments and reducing errors caused by misconfigurations.
Host profiling can replace per-host, manual, or UI-based host configuration, and maintain configuration consistency and correctness across the datacenter. The system administrator can use host profiling to automate host configuration across a large number of hosts and clusters and thus reduce the time spent on configuring and deploying new host machines. Host profiling can facilitate monitoring for host configuration errors and deviations, and detect and report configuration errors so that remedial action can be taken.